Raina carries 15 bats on tour and even discusses with seniors which one to use when; take a bow...

Why Suresh Raina carries 15 bats on tour

Raina carries 15 bats on tour and even discusses with seniors which one to use when; take a bow...

There used to be a time when cricketers just carried a couple of bats for a tour and some of them didn't even carry any.

There's also an interesting yarn about a former India captain picking up someone's bat lying in the dressing room and going on to play one of his finest innings. He had not got his cricket kit along.

Suresh Raina for one will be mighty amused if someone tells him this tale. For Raina, yesterday's centurion and man of the match in India's second World T20 2010 match against South Africa, has carried 15 bats on this tour.

"I am not fussy, but I like to have a bat that has the perfect weight and suits my game. I don't like the feeling of not having my best bats for a tour," he told MiD DAY as he made his way to the dressing room after the post-match press conference yesterday.

Raina went on to elaborate on his bat: "I use my own experience but I also discuss which bat I should use on a particular day with my seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni."

There's no doubt that Raina made the right choice as he treated the South African bowlers with utter disdain to help India win by 14 runs. His 101 came off just 60 balls (9x4, 5x6).

He has prospered in the all-important one-drop position. "Skipper Dhoni told me at the start of the tournament that if I continue my Indian Premier League form, I should go in at No 3 in this tournament.

I am very glad that I performed," said Raina, who was man-of-the-match in the IPL final which Chennai Super Kings won against Mumbai Indians on April 25.

The talented young gun attributed his success to two Aussies - Allan Border and Ricky Ponting.

"I had once visited the Australian Cricket Academy where Border and Ponting offered a lot of tips. Border spoke to me at length about my stance while Ponting taught me more about the essence of batting," he said.

More recently, the southpaw profited from tips on the mental side of the game from Chennai coach Stephen Fleming and teammate Matthew Hayden, both distinguished left-handed batsmen.

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